Certain. It makes sense. Cats are all-natural hunters and carnivores – just take into consideration their ancestry. The cat that is sitting there purring on your lap is a accurate or obligate carnivore (meat only diet plan) and is particularly developed by nature to seek out little rodents and birds. Her digestive tract was also developed specifically for the assimilation of raw meat.
The Advantages of Raw Cat Food
Just as it is with humans, your cat’s diet program is the bedrock of her health. The fresher the eating plan, the a lot more nutrients are offered for the cat’s method to use for building immunity, to heal swiftly when injured or ill, and to defend against illness. Raw cat meals diets have been shown to aid a cat’s physique when dealing with several popular infirmities like flea infestations, hot spots, excessive shedding, poor dental and gum health, allergies, gastrointestinal challenges like IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Illness), immune problems and degenerative illnesses. When it comes to your cat’s urinary tract, food that is entirely all-natural has confirmed to be the 1 of very best points to retain her in optimum urinary health.
Raw diets have been small business as usual in Europe for years, particularly Germany, where it is consistently encouraged by veterinarians. The hesitation to switch to raw meat right here in the U.S. seems to originate from a fear of salmonella, E. Coli and parasites. In reality, people (a lot of of them vets) who have been feeding their animals on a raw diet for years have encountered no trouble with this at all, and experts have concluded that this fear is absolutely unfounded. Recall, cats’ digestive systems are designer-constructed to accommodate raw meat. A cat may well contract parasites right after an instance of eating wild, entire prey or game meats, but is incredibly unlikely to do so with appropriately handled human grade meats. Infection is considerably extra most likely to come about due to her ingestion of feces or soil, or from improperly handled meat.
The research sited in America supporting a raw cat meals diet plan is truly rather persuasive. A lengthy-term study carried out by Francis M. Pottenger, Jr., MD, in between 1932 and 1942, started rather by accident. Dr. Pottenger kept cats as lab animals for experiments in human wellness (I know, but keep reading). As each his investigation and cat population grew, he resorted to feeding them raw meat scraps from a neighborhood packing plant rather than cooked kitchen leftovers. In just a few months, he began to notice distinct improvements in those cats who had been consuming the raw meat.
This inspired Dr. Pottenger to craft a fully new experiment. He segregated cats into distinctive groups – some of which had been fed a cooked meat diet program and other folks who received a diet plan of strictly raw meat. Detailed observations have been created over many generations of cats. At the end of the study, Dr. Pottenger concluded that cats fed a heat processed diet plan were nutrient deficient and suffered from countless health problems, from low immunity, irritable behavior and allergies, to skeletal deformation, organ malfunction, poor development throughout kittenhood, low birth price, birth defects, sterility, and shortened life-span.
There are exceptions to the notion that raw is often greater. Older, weaker cats who may possibly not simply tolerate unprepared meals, or cats with specific gastrointestinal issues where the stomach desires to be brought back to a healthier state utilizing herbs and/or supplements really should have a house ready, cooked diet program as the greatest option to a raw meals diet.
Raw Cat Food Diets
Ideally, our feline companions would consume an all raw eating plan that includes some organ meat and bones. In common, the much more raw food you can add to your cat’s diet program, the improved, but any is undoubtedly much better than none at all. Some guardians opt to feed their companions a raw and dry – dehydrated or kibble – diet program, either mixing them collectively or feeding raw for a single meal just about every day, and dry or cooked for the other. It needn’t be all that complex! Feed your cat raw chicken necks and chicken backs as some or all of a meal quite a few instances each week, if you want. Raw chicken bones don’t chip, they crunch. This is a great way to clean your cat’s teeth, exercising her chewing muscle tissues, and supply a all-natural source of balanced calcium and phosphorus, as properly. Not surprisingly, naturally raised, hormone- and antibiotic-absolutely free or organic meat is considered perfect.
Your cat could encounter some diarrhea, constipation, or each as her method adjusts to the new diet. This is just a detoxification approach as they make the transition to a healthier way of consuming. Never overlook to go slowly and feed tiny amounts initially. When 1st introducing raw bones, bear in mind that they must always be ground. If your kitty has a delicate digestive tract, look at grinding meat and bones by means of a quarter inch blade ahead of feeding. When ground bones don’t have the similar teeth cleaning benefits as complete bones, this is a good way to get your cat utilized to them at the outset. Once more, the key is to go gradually and persist. In the long term, your kitty’s enhanced wellness and energy will be your reward.
Commonsense precautions must be taken when dealing with raw meat. Wash your hands totally following handling it. Defrost meat in the fridge never leave it sitting on the counter at room temperature. Warm water can be applied to thaw or warm the meals following it’s been partially defrosted in the fridge. Do not microwave raw meals as the live enzymes will be broken and the bones will toughen even right after only 30 seconds of microwaving the bones develop into really hard.
It really is recommended that you avoid feeding your cat pork, as it really is been shown to be a source of Trichinella. If bacteria has you worried, attempt rinsing the food with a number of drops of meals-grade hydrogen peroxide in a sink of water, or half a teaspoon of liquid grapefruit seed extract in a sink of water. These will aid kill any surface bacteria.
Transitioning to Raw Cat Food
If kitty don’t like it, kitty do not eat it. You know your cat will do her best to dictate what goes into her food bowl. So, it’s greatest to introduce raw food slowly into your cat’s diet regime more than the course of a couple of weeks. If she is accustomed to getting food available in the course of the day, 1st transition her to consuming only 2 to three occasions every single day ahead of beginning the transition to raw food. Think about transitioning her totally to raw at the pretty beginning, even if you at program to in the end feed her a mixture of raw and cooked or dry. This can give your cat’s digestive method the ideal atmosphere for generating healthier enzymes and flora. Start with a single teaspoon for about three days. Then enhance to two teaspoons for various days, decreasing the amount of regular meals by one particular quarter to one half in common proportion to the raw. Function up to replacing at least half the regular diet plan for various days. Ultimately, replace one complete meal with raw food for a day or two, then comprehensive the transition to raw food for all meals.